Microsoft, Sinofsky and Nash.

My blood is as blue as the next programmer's, but this time I'm left wondering.

I am a firm believer that Microsoft's development tools are the best as far as making a developer productive. I also believe that the Office suite is very good (notice I did not say great or the best). However, Office is 'good enough' and is one of those tools that has gone far too long without major updating (like IE). It is really a diamond in the rough. A perfectly ripe fruit that needs the hard labor that all farming does to bring it to harvest.

Enter stage left, Sinofsky. He's the one that has been handling the Office suite. His firm regimented management style has kept Office releases on schedule. However, that same management style has not allowed any major innovation or interoperability in years. So now, Allchin steps down and hands the reigns to Sinofsky. Was this meant to be a slap to the COSD team for missing release date after release date? Sinofsky, the same man who, when another team might delay his Office release, side stepped the team and 'did it theirselves' and sacrificed interoperability.

Enter stage right, Nash. What could we not say about this guy. He pretty much single handedly turned Windows from a security laughingstock to a serious contender. The same man who spent most of '03 sleeping in the MSRC handling the attacks as they came in and personally handing the STUs to get them out the door. The same man that said that Microsoft could and should respond faster. The same man who turned in his 'security keys' to the kingdom today. Today, the same day that Microsoft announced that Sinofsky was now the 'man in charge'.

As I said, I'm a Microsoft believer, but I'm worried that this is yet another misstep by the company. When they wasted a not-so-small fortune to bring in Ozzie with his half-baked and blue-sky ideas, I stayed awake many nights worried that he would lead them astray. With Microsoft "Live" coming to life like Ozzie's Frankenstein, is Sinofsky the stake in the heart?